Here are 2 ways Alabama prisons are attracting more people to work as correctional officers

ELMORE, Alabama – When Chance Webster recently returned to Montgomery from a military deployment, he quickly sought a job in law enforcement.

"I had been on the military side, and now I want to be on the civilian side for a time," he said.

Webster is among 15 trainees participating in a new program to work for the Alabama Department of Corrections.

The department traditionally has required employees to undergo an intensive 12-week residential program in Selma, but a new option in the Montgomery area allows trainees to receive instruction during the day and go home each night.

"Because it's local, I get to go home every day," Webster said. "I recently came off deployment, so I'm able to be home instead of leaving again right away."

The first class of the non-residential program includes 11 men and four women from Montgomery, Elmore and Autauga counties.

The program is the first to run simultaneously with a larger residential class in Selma, Deputy Commissioner of Women's Services Wendy Williams said.

"We're focusing on trainees who might have family hardships or obligations, where being away from home for 12 weeks may be hard to do," Williams said.

The curriculum for both programs includes instruction in dozens of topics – from basic first aid to defensive tactics to gender responsive training.

For several years, trainees have been taught about compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act, a federal law passed in 2003. That training has been lengthened from two hours to four.

The instructors have a wide range of experience working in men's and women's facilities in Alabama, and they have undergone extensive training to become certified, Williams said.

"We handpick the trainers," she said. "They're some of the department's best."

Webster's military experience has helped him thrive during training, but the skilled instructors and hands-on techniques prepare all trainees to be good employees, he said.

"It's physically and mentally demanding, but you just have to focus," said Webster, who will work at Kilby after graduating.

Markeice Harris, another trainee from Montgomery, also emphasized the quality of instruction, saying "I have no doubt I can go back to Tutwiler and do my job well."

Harris did not know exactly what to expect from training but experience with the National Guard has proven beneficial, with many of the same fundamentals.

"Every day has a new challenge, but the instructors teach you step by step," Harris said. "It's up to you to do what it takes to do the job."

ADOC officials will evaluate the first non-residential class and possibly expand the program throughout the state if it proves successful.

In a January report, the U.S. Department of Justice said Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women has "dangerously low staffing levels." Staffing is an issue at facilities throughout the state, some of which are nearly double their intended capacity.

The department's inmate-to-security officer ratio is about 11-to-1, compared to a national average of 5-to-1.

Heightened recruitment efforts have increased the number of applications for ADOC jobs, officials say. The department has ramped up recruiting since last summer, with four recruiters focusing on military career fairs, colleges and universities, and industries throughout the state.

In 2013, 219 trainees graduated from ADOC training and were assigned to facilities throughout the state. So far in 2014, 154 men and women have graduated, and Williams estimates that more than 300 correctional officer trainees will graduate by year's end.

The number of women becoming correctional officers also has increased, from 12 in 2013 to 25 so far this year.

Williams estimated that about 20 percent of employees are veterans.

ADOC officials are also focusing on employee retention. They are conducting surveys of correctional officers in the field now to determine what attracted them to the career and what has motivated them to continue working for the department.